Self-loathing

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section does not cite its references or sources.
You can help Wikipedia by introducing appropriate citations. This article has been tagged since August 2006.

Image:Merge-arrow.gif

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Self-hatred. (Discuss)

Self-loathing in general refers to an extreme dislike of oneself or of oneself's characteristics, and is synonymous with self-hatred.

More often used in a political as well as a popular psychology context, it describes, often disparagingly, a person openly detesting characteristics of people that the person ostensibly shares him- or herself.

For example, a gay person who openly endorses anti-homosexual policies in government is often labeled "self-loathing"; famous examples include Roy Cohn, White House reporter Jeff Gannon or the former mayor of Spokane, Washington Jim West. The Log Cabin Republicans are often called "self-loathing" by left-of-center gay people for their support of a party characterized as anti-gay; defenders of the LCR however deny the charge, pointing out that the group withheld their endorsement for George W. Bush in 2004 specifically because he called for the Federal Marriage Amendment and that they routinely endorse pro-gay Republican candidates such as Rudy Giuliani.

In a very broad sense, some also use the term for gay people who criticize other homosexuals for engaging in stereotypical gay behavior; implying that it's not the stereotypical behavior itself that the criticizing person objects to, but actually his own homosexuality of which he is reminded through the stereotypical behavior of others.

It has been suggested that self-loathing in many minority groups such as Jews, African-Americans and gay people is the result of being raised in a society that often discriminates against and stereotypes such groups. While it can hardly be a surprise that otherwise intelligent members of majority groups display racist characteristics when growing up in such an atmosphere, it has been surmised that minorities growing up in such groups are often just as susceptible to accepting such negative stereotypes and positively integrating themselves into the majority group. A minority member can either "pass" as a member of the majority (for example, a closeted gay) or they can conform to majority beliefs about their minority ("Uncle Toms" or "Oreo Cookies" among African-Americans).